Andres Magana Ortiz, an undocumented immigrant who was in the process of obtaining legal status through his American wife, is set to be sent back to Mexico. A Hawaii resident, Ortiz has lived in the U.S. for 28 years without papers. He had requested for a stay of removal from the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Reinhardt, a Carter appointee, wrote in the opinion concurring with the denial of Ortiz's appeal. However, he noted that while the court didn't have jurisdiction to do grant Ortiz's request, it didn't stop him from criticizing the administration's stance on cases like this one.

We are compelled to deny Mr. Magana Ortiz's request because we do not have the authority to grant it. We are not, however, compelled to find the government’s action in this case fair or just.

The decision put forward arguments against Ortiz's deportation, including his family and the age he arrived in the U.S. (15 years old), Ortiz has established himself in the Hawaii coffee industry and has even collaborated with the USDA to study pests that affect the crop. According to the decision, even the Trump administration conceded "there was no question as to Magana Ortiz's good moral character."

That led Reinhardt to fully excoriate the deportation order, focusing on the separation from of a father from his children. "Subjecting vulnerable children to a choice between expulsion to a foreign land or losing the care and support of their father is not how this nation should treat its citizens."

Then came the strongest passage:

President Trump has claimed that his immigration policies would target the "bad hombres." The government’s decision to remove Magana Ortiz shows that even the "good hombres" are not safe. Magana Ortiz is by all accounts a pillar of his community and a devoted father and husband. It is difficult to see how the government’s decision to expel him is consistent with the President’s promise of an immigration system with "a lot of heart." I find no such compassion in the government’s choice to deport Magana Ortiz.